Management Blog

US employers call for 'love contracts'

A number of American employers are asking co-workers who develop romantic relationships to sign 'love contracts', CareerOne reports.

Citing US employment lawyer Stephen Tedesco, the article claims employers are insisting on the contracts in a bid to curb claims of sexual harassment.

The arrangements are said to benefit employers by documenting the relationship (thereby avoiding claims of sexual harassment down the track) and to help define how the couple will conduct themselves.

Workplace experts say the contracts are like "pre-nups for co-workers" so everyone knows the rules if the couple breaks up.

'Sickie bonus' popular in NT

Northern Territory employers are so concerned about the region's skills shortage many are offering to pay workers not to take sick leave.

Speaking to news.com.au, the Territory Construction Association's Graham Kemp says the so-called 'sickie bonus' is now a widespread practice, particularly in the building industry.

The article claims many workers are being paid a bonus of up to $100 a week to avoid taking a sickie.

In addition, many Territory employers are paying in-demand tradesmen above award wages in a bid to retain their services.

Part timers swell in numbers

A Productivity Commission report suggests Australia has the largest number of part-time workers in the developed world, The Age reports.

And not only are our companies happy to employ part timers, they're also prepared to pay them well: the study found the nation's casual workforce is amongst the world's best paid.

The study suggests part time pay loadings were in excess of 90 per cent of full time rates in Australia, a figure considerably lower in other OECD countries.

Our most admired companies revealed

Two Australian businesses have rated highly in a survey of the world's most admired companies conducted by Forbes magazine, The West Australian reports.

Leading retailer Woolworths was ranked amongst the finalists in the survey's food and drug store category while BHP Billiton was ranked as the third most admired mining company.

In terms of the overall top 20, Apple was named as the world's most admired company. General Electric ranked second while Toyota took out third place in the annual listing.

The survey also looked at employee incentive programs. It found 46 per cent of Australian companies in the 'most admired' table had reward programs for staff in place, which is 10 per cent lower than the international average.

Drunken worker numbers revealed

A new study has found nearly 700,000 Australians turned up to work under the influence of alcohol last year, The Herald Sun reports.

The 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey also claims men are three times more likely than women to turn up to work drunk.

Alcohol isn't the only substance making its presence felt in the workplace; it's claimed around 270,000 workers went to work under the influence of illicit drugs.

In some good news the survey found all figures on drug and alcohol use in the workplace were down slightly from the 2004 study.

Women rule in business communication

In a finding that won't surprise at least half of the nation, a new study suggests women are better business communicators than their male counterparties, news.com.au reports.

The Westpac study claims women are much more likely to seek out advice from other business owners, colleagues and family members prior to making financial and business decisions.

Researchers say women are generally more eager to learn from the experiences of others when making decisions than men who are often prone to rely on existing systems and processes.

The survey also indicates women are more adept at creating support networks, an attribute that can be particularly useful when starting a business.

Data loss riles managers

One in five businesses have dismissed a staff member for disclosing company secrets by email, The Australian reports.

In addition, almost 50 per cent of companies took up disciplinary action with staff over the issue of data leakage, a recent Proofpoint/Forrester study has found.

The study authors say the problem could be worse than many managers realise, as the majority of companies do not have adequate reporting systems in place to track data loss.

Success is all about resilience

Failure isn't the worst thing that can happen to a leader; in fact, it can actually help your career, psychologists suggest.

According to a recent BusinessWeek article, the learnable trait of self-efficacy - the ability to persevere through failure - can help separate the mediocre from the successful.

Psychologists say self-efficacy leaders - including Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Jack Welch and Steve Jobs - usually have a history of failures under their belt.

According the article: "When failure strikes, people with high self-efficacy learn from their errors and strengthen their resolve to succeed."

For more on resilience at work check out the ebook Resilience@Work, published by Management Press.

Inductions foster staff retention

Ensuring new recruits are properly inducted can make a massive difference to a company's staff retention rates, Smart Manager argues in a recent post on how to hold onto employees.

The following tips for effective inductions are offered:

• Be welcoming - start off with an informal ice-breaker such as an induction breakfast
• Show and tell - ensure the company's organisational structure, chain of command, conflict resolution procedures and O&S obligations are outlined
• Buddy up - allocate a 'buddy' to all new staff to aid the ongoing induction process
• Prepare yourself - make sure telephone systems are explained, email addresses are made and all equipment is fully operational

Harnessing Generation Y

Don't let Generation Y staff drive you up the wall... learn how to harness their power, argues Sydney Morning Herald Enterprise blogger Valerie Khoo.

Khoo offers the following tips on how to get the most from the so-called 'empowered generation':

Be positive – use their 'I can do anything' attitude to your advantage; there might be some good ideas under all the bravado

Test them out –give them a chance to prove their skills on a small project; if they succeed everyone wins

Open up – use their interests to your advantage; e.g. if they love Facebook, ask them to research business opportunities in this area